Today is Friday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2009. There are 62 days left in the year.
On this date:
* On Oct. 30, 1938, the radio play "The War of the Worlds," starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS. (The drama panicked some listeners who thought the portrayal of a Martian invasion was real.)
* In 1945, the U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing, effective at midnight.
* In 1974, Muhammad Ali regained his world heavyweight title by knocking out George Foreman in Kinshasa, Zaire, known as the "Rumble in the Jungle."
* In 1975, the New York Daily News ran the headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead" a day after President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.
* In 1984, police in Poland found the body of kidnapped pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko, whose death was blamed on security officers.
Today's Birthdays
Actor Dick Gautier is 72. Movie director Claude Lelouch is 72. Rock singer Grace Slick is 70. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 70. Actor Ed Lauter is 69. R&B singer Otis Williams (The Temptations) is 68. Actor Henry Winkler is 64. Rock musician Chris Slade (Asia) is 63. Country/rock musician Timothy B. Schmit (The Eagles) is 62. Actor Leon Rippy is 60. Actor Harry Hamlin is 58. Actor Charles Martin Smith is 56. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 55. Actor Kevin Pollak is 52. Actor Michael Beach is 46. Rock singer-musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 42. Actor Jack Plotnick is 41. Comedian Ben Bailey is 39. Actress Nia Long is 39. Country singer Kassidy Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 33. Actor Gael Garcia Bernal is 31. Actor Matthew Morrison is 31. Actor Shaun Sipos is 28. Actor Tequan Richmond ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 17.
Thought for Today: "It almost seems that nobody can hate America as much as native Americans. America needs new immigrants to love and cherish it." -- Eric Hoffer, American philosopher (1902-1983).
